Lost mechs
by Impressionsguy
Summary: Set post G1 movie, about 3 bots who are quite special to me. Oneshot.


_Here's a little fanfic about some G1 Bots you don't see much/at all after the movie, Purely my fanon._

Chapter One

Sometimes I like to think back to when we first came to Earth, my old friends… I haven't seen Trailbreaker in Stellar Cycles, I heard Cliffjumper survived that whole encounter with Unicron… I may have seen Mirage, then again I may not have… You never know with that bot, you know what I mean? Haven't seen Bumblebee since the Memoriam Ceremony we had after the battle of 2005. Primus! Ironhide, Prowl, Windcharger, Brawn… All great Bots, and I'm never going to see them again. That's the thing about war, you're downing a gallon of oil with your pal one minute, the next you're attending their funeral. What twisted creator would allow this? _Slag…_

Not too long after the 2005 battle, Rodimus positioned me, along with a few other bots to Iacon as sort of a "neighborhood watch" deal. Real slap in the face if you ask me. I was one of the original Autobots who set out to Earth! Now I'm nothing more than just a neighborhood policebot. Another thing, I think this Rodimus is a bit too big for his britches too. Huffer would have been more competent as a leader… Imagine that, "Huffimus Prime". I know I'd get plenty of scorn for trash talking my superior like this. Can you imagine what Ironhide or Prowl would say if they… were around?

I guess I can't bellyache too much about how things are now, I have Jazz to keep me company, great bot, Primus love him, we have Bluestreak here too, but he hasn't talked too much since his brother, Prowl died. I feel bad for him, poor kid. Almost wish there was something I could do.

Life gets pretty slow nowadays, we question a mech who looks suspicious, tell bots in their altmodes to slow down, you know, everything a war hero like me isn't meant to do. But today would be different, and it all started with a trip to Maccadam's Old Oil House.

We walked in, not too long before our shift was supposed to start, when i saw a familiar face sitting at the bar.

"Trailbreaker?" I called out, the mech turned around. Sure enough it was him.

"Hound! Buddy! how ya doing?" He exclaimed, calling us over.

"Better now since we ran into you, ya son of a glitch!" I said walking over, hitting him on the shoulder and sitting down.

"Hey barkeep, four viscos over here!" Trailbreaker yelled to the bartender.

We drank. I gotta say, I couldn't remember how long it had been since I'd been this happy.

"You know who I miss? Mirage." I brought up.

"Mirage? Yeah Mirage! Ol' Disappearing Act!" Trailbreaker replied. I knew he didn't really forget him, he had just had a head start on the Energon, if you know what I mean.

"I wonder what happened to him, haven't seen him since the big battle on Earth." I said

"That's the last I saw him too, course that's the last I saw a lot of bots..." Trailbreaker said somberly.

"Wait, you mean to tell me he's..."

"Dead? No, at least I don't think so. I think Beachcomber might know. Slagged if I do." Trailbreaker ended.

"Really? I may have to catch up with him too." I replied.

"I hate to break up the reunion fellas, but its about time we get to our post." Jazz said. I knew he was right, I finished my drink, payed the check, thanked Trailbreaker for the chat, and we were on our way.

And another long day went on. We caught some little punk giving some minibots a hard time, pretty sure it was one of Soundwave's creepy little minions. Can't tell the blue one from the red one. Nobody seems to talks much when we're at our post, I decided to break the silence.

"So I think I'm gonna go talk to Beachcomber after the shifts over."

"At least make it like you are interested in talking to _him_ before. Don't just open with 'Hey Beachcomber! it's been a while... so my big dumb friend says you know where Mirage is." Bluestreak scoffed.

"Vector Sigma man! You been quiet for so long and that's what you say?" Jazz reacted.

"You have some nerve to act so high and mighty! What did you do when we were attacked on Earth? sit and a monitor with your piston in your servos?" Bluestreak spat.

"Guys!" I tried to intervene.

"Really? Guess you missed the memo about the _Giant planet that devoured the moonbases!_ "

"Maybe I was a bit busy mourning over _MY BROTHER!_ "

"You don't think I was close to Prowl too? That hit me hard, its tough all over man."

"Don't _MAN_ me Jazz! I ought to-"

"Just SHUT UP! Both of you! Bluestreak, we were all close! everyone was friends with everyone, loss hit everyone! Jazz, Prowl was Bluestreak's brother, take it at least a bit easy on him!" I shouted.

"I'm going for a drive." I concluded transforming and driving off.

Damn. I don't know where I'm going, but it has to be away from those two, away from my terrible job, away from... All the bad memories...

* * *

After a long drive I ended up just going back to Maccadam's. Gonna drown all this slag in energon. Luckily for me, Trailbreaker was there, don't think he even left.

I plopped down at the stool next to him. "Hey."

"Aww come on Red, get the stick outta your exhaust, It's -burp- .. My shift for sec... sec... security. I'll do... -hiccup- ...fine." He was drunk. Really drunk. Drunk enough to be delusionally reenacting old days of tag teaming security shifts with Red Alert.

"Trailbreaker, It's me, Hound."

"-hicc- Hound! Buddy! How longs it been? Months? Years?"

"Just a couple of hours buddy."

"Oh... Oh yeah, you were in here, with uhh.. Jazz and Bluestreak... And that little guy who looked like Cliffjumper but he was yellow."

"I think you made that last part up pal." I said. Honestly a bit cheery because drunk Trailbreaker is funny and it's been way too long since I last saw him _this_ plastered.

"I thought I'd stop by, couldn't stand it on duty anymore you know?"

"No, not really. I retired after the big battle and the change of leadership, got a nice pension and spend my days here now." I saw he was starting to come back to reality a little bit.

"Really? Primus you're smart. I should've done that." I wasn't even kidding, that was a _really_ good idea.

We talked for another few hours. Another great time, the longer I spent with him the more I wish I had retired. Eventually I decided I'd better get going. I covered the check this time, wish I didn't, the headstart he had on me set me back a lot of credits. He even told me Beachcomber's address before I left, decided to pay him a visit.

I arrived at his little complex, not too far from Wheeljack's workshop, well now I hear some bot Swerve is tuning it into another bar, It'll always be Wheeljack's lab to me though.

"Mirage? Yeah I've seen him, I was on earth at the time." He was deep into some green energon, I could tell.

"And where was that?" I asked.

"Somewhere near the old base, he told me he set up near there, left the Autobots behind. Smart bot... Smart bot..."

"Thanks buddy, that's all I needed to hear, good seeing you again." I said, thought it was time to get back to my post.

* * *

"Thought you'd never come back." Jazz said.

"I'm sorry guys, I just needed to de-stress, you know?" They nodded.

"Yeah man, I get it." Jazz spoke up.

After my shift was over I took a drive. Eventually I found what I was looking for, Shockwave's tower. Not the original one obviously, as Unicron laid waste to that along with a big chunk of Kaon. Galvatron put the constructicons to rebuilding it afterwards. Kind of a waste considering the Decepticons are never on Cybertron. Luckily Rodimus doesn't know about this place or else it would have guards all over the place who wouldn't take too kindly for what I meant to do.

After making my way up and gunning down countless Decepticon drones meant to prevent intruders like me, I found the room I was looking for. The Space-Bridge console room. Fun fact about Cybertron, like Earth, Objects here will collect dust if left untouched, a lot of it accumulated on the console over the long period of abandonment this place has been through. Now lets see if I can find what I'm looking for.

"Hmmm.. Quintessa, Chaar... A-hah!" There it was, Planet Earth_[Milky Way Galaxy]. After selecting the intended area I booted up the space bridge and ran into the port, praying it would work even after all this time.

Sure enough, When I opened my optics, I was there, Earth... Home. I jumped for joy and transformed, laughing with glee as I sped through the canyon and up into the desert, bounding over sand hills. It was so good to be home, I kept driving toward where the old base, but when I arrived I was in for a very unfortunate surprise.

"No... It can't be..." The base was destroyed.

Gone... All gone, that base was my home... All the good times I had there, the bots I shared it with. They were my family... They were my family damn it! And this... This base was our home. And... I knew now not only was I never going to see so many members of my old family again... But I'd never get to set foot in my real home ever again. Damn it! Vector Sigma... Why? Why did this have to happen, could I not have one thing to cling onto to remind me life was actually good for me at one point? Why? Why? _Why..._

* * *

After a long cry I had passed out, Primus knows for how long, all I knew was someone found me. I didn't know who yet though. I was in a large laboratory, I was still on Earth I knew that much, all the equipment was too primitive to be Cybertronian. After looking around for a second I got up, whoever brought me here couldn't have wanted to dismantle me or anything of that sort considering I wasn't bound to a table or on a conveyor belt to my doom so I guess that was a good sign. I got up and walked around, looking for any sort of life.

"Hello?" I called out. Somebody must have heard, because a large door opened to reveal a robot bigger than Bumblebee but still smaller than me, nobody that I recognized of course, but it seemed they were inspired by Cybertronians.

"Ah! Hello sir.. Or ma'am... I wanted to thank you for picking me up out there, Don't know if I would've made it if a sandstorm went through." I said.

"No thanks is necessary." The figure said in a low, monotone voice. "Happy to help an old friend." Okay... Apparently I'm a friend of this guy...

"Oh, uh... Old friend you say? Pardon me for asking but who are you?" I asked.

"Oh.. My apologies, You don't recognize me, perhaps this will clear things up." Suddenly a large hatch opened on the torso to reveal a human strapped to multiple wires, the wires disconnected and the human's eyes opened.

"Better?" The human I soon realized to be Chip Chase asked.

"Chip!" I said with excitement. "It's great to see you again!"

"I'm happy to see you too, Hound." He said descending from a ramp that emerged from the large suit.

The next few Earth hours we spent catching up over some tea for him and a nice piping hot drum of oil for me. Turns out, back in 1987 when Chip left for university he took robotics, and even graduated a couple years ahead of his class! Since then he's become a robotic engineer for his own company along with another human named Isaac Sumdac.

"The suit? The suit is really what started it all. About 10 years ago I contacted Wheeljack and Perceptor to see if they could drop by and help, they gave me a helping hand with it. Since then I haven't had to roll around anymore in my chair. Eventually the blueprints even evolved into those Exosuits Spike and his kid wear. Since then I used the Cybertronian tech on the suit to expand into my own company." He explained.

"More tea, master Chip?" The voice startled me and in a startle I ended up stomping on where it came from. I looked down to see a small transformer stamped into the floor.

"Oh Primus! I'm so sorry!" I said.

"What? Over him? Don't be. Erector, Fixit, Redhot, to me." Suddenly three small bots came to Chip. "Pick up Stakeout and go repair him. Chop-chop!" He commanded.

"What are those things?" I asked.

"I call them Micromasters, they're little drones based off you Autobots I invented, not sentient though, only live by command. I've sold these to the military and most police forces, they come in handy since their small size makes them hard to spot, but most of them I simply use as little butlers. Like poor little Stakeout for example."

"Oh, once again, sorry about that."

"Hey, don't be. Like I said, not sentient, no feelings." Chip reassured me. Frankly it disturbed me quite a bit, they were so much like us, but just mindless drones? Primus... I thanked Chip for his hospitality and went on my merry way.

I drove back to where the old base was, there was still a chance I could find Mirage, and as long as there was a chance I'd try. I decided to scan for Cybertronian lifeforms in the area.. None showed up on my scanner.. Bad sign from the get go. I decided I'd search the rubble of our base.

I dug, and dug, and dug for hours. Eventually I heard an engine hum nearby, at risk of a Decepticon or an angered Ultra Magnus I hid behind a boulder, hiding could buy me sometime to come up with something before they picked me up on a scanner. I grabbed mine, yep. Cybertronian life signal alright. Great. I readied my rifle in case things got messy.

I guess I wasn't going to be the one to make the first move, because suddenly a bullet pierced right through my shoulder, I couldn't see the attacker anywhere.

"Drop your weapon and put your servos where I can see them!" An obviously disguised voice called,I'd better do what he says, don't want the next shot to be between my optics. I tossed my rifle down and hid my shoulder cannon.

"Listen!" I called out. "I mean you no harm, I am hear in search of my friend, perhaps you've seen him?"

"If you came here to look, he's either left or he's dead!" The voice said, closer than before.

"Maybe you could help me?" I asked.

"Not interested in helping anyone, last time I did that, I lost a lot of friends." He said, even closer.

"Who are you? Are you Autobot or Decepticon?" I called.

"Neither." The voice said, nearly behind me. I turned around and readied my shoulder cannon.

"Show yourself, I'm not afraid to use this!"

"Quick to violence huh? Must be a 'brave warrior' I'm dealing with."

That was it, I fired into the darkness, I hit someone, I knew that much, unless the cry of pain came from a rock. I suddenly saw a body fly into a rock wall and collide heavily, must be the bot I'd hit. I decided to check it out. Once I arrived I was in for a big surprise.

"... *cough* ... _Hound_?" The figure asked. I couldn't believe it, I just fired a rocket at the bot I came here for, Mirage.

"Vector Sigma... Mirage!" I exclaimed. His body seemed fine, until I saw that he was missing an arm.

"Oh Primus! Mirage I'm so sorry! If I had known I'd-"

"Save it Hound, I'm sure its around here somewhere, to make it up to me you can go find it and repair me." He said. "And do it before I leak out huh?"

"You got it." I said looking around.

Thankfully I found it pretty quick, and I put my first aid kit to good use for the first time in a few decacycles, before long Mirage and I were just chatting and having a grand time.

"You're a _street cop_?" Mirage questioned.

"It's not that bad, it has the perks of unlimited time to contemplate your bad decisions!" I joked.

"Wow. That definitely sounds like any bot's dream job, where do I sign up?" Mirage said sarcastically.

We talked and talked the night away, I was beyond happy to have my old best friend back once again. Then all of a sudden he said something that changed my life

"Why don't you just resign?"

"What?"

"Resign. You hate your job, you don't like Rodimus, no more of this war. Hound, all signs point to this."

"Resign... I had thought about it, never thought I really would though... What would Optimus Prime-"

"Hound, Optimus is gone, if he was still around I'd consider going back to the Autobots, but there isn't anything for me with them anymore." He was right, Nothing for him, and nothing for me there either.

"Tell you what. You're right Mirage. tomorrow morning I'll officially hand in my resignation." I said.

"Great! you wouldn't believe it, but a bot tends to get a bit nuts with no one else around." Mirage grinned.

* * *

I'm a bot of my word. I wasn't about to lie to my best friend, deep down I knew this was for the best. Ever since Prime died I had lost a lot of motivation to stay with the Autobot cause,a bot like him could make a bot from another planet all together feel like an Autobot patriot, Rodimus? he makes a bot feel like retiring.

I walked through the Autobot Bureaucratic headquarters holding my files, past one of Blaster's cassttes giving some newbies a tour, past Red Alert waiting in line to see if any security jobs were open, and when I was almost to Ultra Magnus' office, I saw something. A large mural of Optimus Prime, and all the Autobots who set out to Earth with him, I instantly remembered all the good times I had with all of them. I remembered secretly loving every time Jazz blared his speakers, trying to keep the Dinobots from creating too much havoc when they wanted to walk, That rush of adrenaline I got driving into battle next to the likes of Ironhide and Cliffjumper... And while I knew that a lot of my old friends may be gone, the memories will always be with me. And with that, I handed in my resignation.

"I must say Hound, I'm quite surprised by this." Ultra Magnus said.

"This is what I want Commander." I said.

Ultra Magnus looked at me. "You know? I think I understand. It's been an honor having you serve our troops." He said with a smile.

I smiled back and saluted. "Till all are one."

"Till all are one."

Leaving the building was rather bittersweet, knowing this would probably be the last I see all these Autobots again, but it meant I could spend the rest of my days with my best friend... Wait. I couldn't go back to my best friend without going to see my other best friend one more time, and I knew right where he'd be.

"Trailbreaker!" I called, walking into Maccadam's, sure enough, he was there, I told him what happened and said my goodbyes when all of a sudden he surprised me.

"Count me in." He said. Serious as ever. I was taken aback to be honest.

"What?"

"I'm coming too." He said getting up

"But what about Maccadams? Your big retirement plan?"

"Buddy, I'd never touch another bottle of nightmare fuel again if it meant spending my retirement with my best friends." He said. "Wait, hold that thought." HE called the bartender over and he gave him a bottle. "Okay, I'd never touch another starting now." He laughed.

"Well." I said. "We've got to catch the Space Bridge."

"Space Bridge? No way! Come with me." Trailbreaker led me to a garage near his home and inside was a state of the art space cruiser.

"You had this all this time? How did you afford this?" I asked.

"I thought my pension was a bit small, so I helped myself to a retirement gift, from Rodimus to me."

"Does he know about that?"

"As far as he knows the Dinobots went nuts on it, come on, lets go." And with that we took off to Earth.

* * *

Mirage waited in the canyon by the abandoned Space Bridge.

"Whats taking him? It shouldn't take this long... He couldn't have possibly... Hounds never lied before..." Mirage talked to himself. Suddenly the cruiser flew overhead. It landed not to far from his location, he went invisible.

I stepped out. "Mirage, it's just me." I said, he reappeared.

"Didn't know if you were coming back for a second."

"Hey, I've never lied before," I said.

"That's something I always liked about you."

"Come on you two! We goin' on an adventure or not?" Trailbreaker called from the cockpit.

"Is that... Trailbreaker?" Mirage asked.

"Sure is." I said. "Now like he said, you coming or what?" I asked.

"You bet your aft I am." Mirage said.

And so we set off on our grand space adventure/retirement. Just the 3 of us. And this time I knew I'd be happy this way for a long time.

* * *

 _So that wraps this one up. I don't know if I'm going to continue this, let me know in a review if you want to see more. Till all are one!_


End file.
